


The Interview

by Solstice0612



Series: Vexing Questions [5]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s01e01-02 Children of the Gods, Episode: s01e03 The Enemy Within (Stargate), Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 08:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11642847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solstice0612/pseuds/Solstice0612
Summary: Teal’c was instrumental in destroying Daniel Jackson’s family and ending his life in Abydos. What happened between Daniel and Teal’c that led Daniel to accept him as a member of SG1? Missing scene between season one episodes Children of the Goods and The Enemy Within (101-103).





	The Interview

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks to my wonderful beta Topazowlet. All mistakes are my own.

Daniel was on his bunk at the SGC reading a National Geographic magazine he had brought from Jack’s house under the unfriendly glare of the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. He was still waiting to fall asleep, but it was already close to dawn. He felt exhausted and rather lost without the daily routine of his life in Abydos. Sleep had become elusive, and planet lag and the anxiety of his life thrown into chaos once more didn’t help.

The trip to Chulak had been so harrowing that he didn’t argue when Dr. Warner told him to get a good night sleep, yet his mind wouldn’t stop reeling. Had he made everything worse in trying to help Sha’re and Skaara? By attracting the attention of the Goa’uld towards his team, wasn’t he responsible for Skaara been chosen as a host? How would he tell Kasuf that he had doomed both his children?

As his mind traveled along the downward spiral of doubt, he heard a soft knock and then the door opening.

“Dr. Jackson?” asked a young airman.

“Yes?”

“Good morning, doctor. General Hammond would like to see you.”

“Right, okay.” Daniel followed the airman in silence, getting more worried by the second about the motive for the meeting. Would he be asked to leave if their mission was considered a failure? He had been so self-involved in his own misery that he hadn’t even considered all the consequences of the events that took place in Chulak. Soon enough, he found himself in front of the General’s office.

“Good morning Dr. Jackson. Come in, sit down,” said Hammond in his normal neutral voice.

Daniel took his place in front of the general’s desk, yearning for a cup of coffee.

“I would like to discuss drafting some guidelines for your work here at Stargate Command,” said Hammond. “What do you think your objectives should be, besides, of course, trying to rescue your family?”

“General, are you to trying to figure out if keeping me here is worth the trouble?”

“Dr. Jackson, we’re all regularly evaluated in our job performance, a fact that is not foreign to Academia. What I’d like to establish is the ways in which you can help the Stargate program moving forward. I know the President agrees that we should learn more about the cultures we encounter. How do you propose to do that?”

“I see. Well, I’m familiar with human cultures at the time when their members were taken from Earth, which, as far as we know, took place in ancient Egypt. If I can compare what we know with how things have evolved in other planets, I can provide a better frame of reference to facilitate communication and help develop whatever missions may take place in those planets. It will require that I examine the culture personally, that I have a chance to talk to the members of the communities we encounter, and learn their languages and customs as much as I can. Understanding the context should make us safer.”

“This seems like a sound general plan to me. Dr. Jackson, please could you draft a report expanding on these concepts so they can be fleshed out and integrated into our operational guidelines?”

“Of course. When do you need it?”

“Soon. We’ll set up an office and a lab for you. Please give Colonel O’Neill a list of whatever materials you’ll need.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Also, I need your report on Chulak sooner rather than later. I assume you took the opportunity to interview the refugees while they were here?”

Daniel blushed deeply and with a pained expression he shook his head.

“I didn’t think. I’m sorry. It all happened to so quickly, and then Sha’re and Skaara…”

“I understand you are worried about your family, Doctor, but if you are not able to cope with the stress, perhaps it’d be better for you to remain on Earth.”

“No! I have to keep looking for them! I’m sorry, General, this will never happen again. I’ll set up guidelines so we can gather as much information as we can, and I’ll stick to them rigorously. I give you my word.”

“Dr. Jackson, this was your second chance... and I rarely give people a third try. I’m only allowing you to continue because you are a civilian and processing another consultant would take a long time.”

“I promise, sir, I’ll make it work.”

“I’ll hold you to your promise. Have you interviewed Teal’c, the Jaffa who is in custody?”

“Not yet. Do I have your authorization do that?”

“You do. The Pentagon is sending somebody to interrogate him tomorrow. I’d prefer if you could gather as much information from Teal’c as you can without revealing too much about us and our work here at the SGC. We don’t know what the ultimate destiny of this person will be, but if he’s to leave Earth it would be best that he knows little about it.”

“Yes sir.

“I need the report on Teal’c on my desk tomorrow morning. I look forward to it, Dr. Jackson. You are dismissed.”

Daniel left Hammond’s office still feeling embarrassed but with a renewed sense of resolve. He now had a mission, a new set of tasks to accomplish, and he would put an end to the strings of failures that his life had been lately.

As Daniel walked the corridor trying to figure out where to get pen and paper, Hammond picked up the phone and dialed.

“Colonel O’Neill? Hammond here…. Yes, I had a chat with Dr. Jackson. As you suspected, he needed some help figuring out how to fit in at the SGC. I have taken care of it. Anything else?” The General took a moment to listen, and then signed off with a smile on his face.

 

====

 

The airman punched the security code and opened the door for Daniel. The room was sparse. It had a cot and few pieces of furniture, but none of them were in use. The man who had called himself Teal’c was seated on the floor meditating. Daniel sat a few feet away adopting the same position and waited politely to be acknowledged.

After a few minutes, Teal’c opened his eyes and spoke in his deep voice. “You are one of the humans who came to Chulak with O’Neill.”

“Hi Teal’c. I’m Daniel Jackson. I’m a member of SG1.”

And switching to Goa’uld, Teal’c continued, “You knew our language.”

“I study ancient languages,” responded Daniel in the Abydonian dialect that was more comfortable for him and would keep the discussion away from Earth’s history.

Teal’c raised an eyebrow and continued in the same tongue, “We speak a similar dialect in Chulak.”

“Is that where you are from?”

“Indeed. Is this an official interrogation?”

“Yes. Is Chulak where Apophis lives?”

“Sometimes. He has no permanent home world,” explained Teal’c. “He travels frequently through his growing dominions to assert his authority. Will you not torture me for information?”

“No, I don’t do that, unless one considers too many questions to be a pain, but that’s neither here nor there. I just want to understand who you are and who your people are. How do you know so much about Apophis?”

“I was his First Prime,” said Teal’c raising his eyebrow.

“Is that like a commander?”

“Indeed. I commanded all his armies.”

“Ah, that’s more like what we call a General.”

“Is that a higher rank than Colonel?”

“Indeed,” said Daniel, noticing the fleeting rise in the corner of Teal’c lips. Was that a Jaffa smirk? But he needed to learn more. “How powerful is Apophis?”

“Now that Ra is gone, he is among the very few System Lords who can claim the position of absolute power and rule over all Goa’uld.”

“What does he know about Ra?”

“His Queen Amonet has learned much from her new human host and how the newcomers defeated Ra. You speak Abydonian, did you know her host Sha’re?”

Daniel took a deep breath. There was no point in denying whatever information Apophis may have gathered from Sha’re. He would know even more from Skaara and was free to go back to Abydos at any time. Besides, he needed to know about Sha’re more than anything.

“She’s my wife.”

“I am sorry to hear that Daniel Jackson. If we were in Chulak it would be within your rights to claim my life.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I am responsible for her capture and Goa’uld implantation.”

Daniel closed his eyes and let his head fall. Suddenly there was no more air in the room and a rushing sound deafened his ears. This man had confessed that he had destroyed his wife, his family, his world. Shouldn’t he make him pay dearly with his own life for what he took?

“I will not defend myself if you wish to act on what is your right by the laws of my people.”

Taking a deep breath to feed his starving lungs, Daniel looked at Teal’c with all the pain of the world visible in the tearing blue eyes. The Jaffa sat there, looking at him with nothing but passive acceptance in his dark eyes.

“You’d let me kill you in revenge?”

“Yes, if you so wish.”

“Why?”

“The opportunity to rise against the evil that the Goa’uld represent was slow in coming and many innocent have fallen by my hand. I know my soul will be deemed unworthy in the final balance, but I must atone for my sins whenever I can.”

“Can you help me get them back? Can you go back there and free my Sha’re and her brother Skaara?”

“I might not succeed. I have openly challenged Apophis’ power. I was a First Prime, yet we are all his slaves. I am now seen as a traitor and most doors will be closed to me. Here, I am to be considered a traitor too, responsible for the loss of your family and one of your warriors. If I am given the chance to fight the Goa’uld, I will freely pledge my allegiance to your world and help you look for your wife and brother.”

Daniel remained silent for a long time, trying to deal with the conflicting emotions triggered by everything that Teal’c had said. The man lived as a slave to obey the absolute rule of the Goa’uld Apophis. Could he have protected Sha’re in any way? And what happened to her, exactly?

“How was she implanted?”

“This knowledge will not bring you peace.”

“I must know. Tell me.”

“Very well. Amonet did not like that Apophis kept female slaves because that challenged her own power. She ordered that only the chosen one was to survive and the rest of the prospective hosts were to be put to death. Three human hosts were selected for implantation, rejected, and then destroyed by Apophis. Many women were held captive as potential hosts, but Sha’re was different. She was spirited and fought every step of the way. I sent her to the implantation chamber early on. Her only chance of avoiding death was to be implanted. She demonstrated that she had the strength necessary to survive for a long time and wait for an opportunity to escape. Few know this, but I have heard of a case of an implanted host who was later freed, though I do not know by what means.”

“So they killed all the other women, including uhm… our warrior?”

“Indeed. As you and everyone else in the dungeon would have been destroyed had we not fought back.”

“I see. How does the implantation take place?”

“A Jaffa priestess keeps the mature Goa’uld in her pouch. The creature comes out and if the host is accepted it bites its way in through the back of the neck. It is painful but once implanted the Goa’uld mitigates the pain as it takes full control of the body. The host’s consciousness is trapped and overpowered. It can resist, but eventually it falls dormant. Goa’uld say that nothing of the host remains, but this is not certain.”

“I know Sha’re would fight back, but we need to find her. How do we do that?”

“Apophis will consider my change of allegiance and vary his normal routine but he will eventually go back to his old ways. We must be patient, and then look for her in those places he used to frequent. But first, he will attack your planet through the gate, perhaps send his ships too. You must ready your space fleet for battle.”

“Right. I’ll pass that along,” said Daniel with a sigh. He wanted to go hide in a closet and pound the walls with his fists, but that would not help Sha’re. He had a job to do and he needed to understand who their enemy was. Everyone depended on him to get at this information. So he took a calming breath and asked, “What can you tell me about the Jaffa?”

“My people have a long history. It would be my honor to tell you about our struggle. We were created by the Goa’uld in a way that has assures our mutual survival and dependency. This must change, but most Jaffa believe Goa’uld to be powerful gods. Only a few have doubts.”

Daniel felt himself relax. He stretched his legs and prepare for a long session of note taking.

 

====

 

“Whachadoin?”

Startled, Daniel looked up from his desktop computer, set on his new desk, in his new office. “Hi Jack. What’s up?”

“Other than who-knows-what deadly bombs tossed at us twice a day, not much. A bit worried about Charlie. He’s acting a bit strange. So, whachadoin?”

“Preparing my report to Hammond.”

“Chulak?”

“Yeah, and several hours of talking to Teal’c. He gave me a ton of info on the Goa’uld.”

“Oh yeah?”

“He told me he’s responsible for Sha’re and Skaara’s implantations.”

“That’s not good. I’m sorry. I kinda liked him. Perhaps I shouldn’t.”

Daniel sighed. A lot hanged in the balance of whatever he was going to say next.

“At first, when he told me about Sha’re, I just wanted to… you know?” Daniel fisted his hands for a moment. “I just hated his guts. But I still had to talk to him because we need the intel. Slowly, I discovered that he’s not quite the monster that destroyed my family. Apophis is the one responsible for that. Teal’c seems to be an honorable Jaffa warrior held in slavery and doing the best he can in impossible circumstances.”

“So you are cool with him?”

“Yeah. The fact that Teal’c is on our side gives me hope. As the First Prime of Apophis he knows him better than anyone. He can help us a lot, if they let him.”

“Daniel, I think we just got us a most valuable teammate. Can you handle it?”

“Yes. We need all the help we can get. Do you trust him, Jack?”

“My gut tells me he’s alright. He says that Apophis will stop sending bombs once he’s convinced that our gate was destroyed. He recommends we do nothing for the moment.”

As another off-world activation was announced, Jack and Daniel ran to the control room. The iris protected them from a most violent adversary calling at the door. They looked at each other knowing that Teal’c would do his best to keep them safe.

 

The End


End file.
